Apply (paper-based process) – Provincial nominees

1. Get a provincial nomination certificate

Visit the website for the province or territory where you want to live to find out how to get a nomination certificate.

Follow the instructions on the province or territory’s website and apply for one of their PNP streams. (Do not submit an application for an Express Entry PNP stream, unless you wish to apply through that process.)

The province or territory will review your application. If you meet their criteria, they will issue you a nomination certificate. You must submit a copy of the nomination certificate when you apply to Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) for permanent residence.

2. Fill out your application

Once you have been nominated by a province or territory, you can submit an application for permanent residence to CIC.

The CIC application package includes the instruction guide and all the forms you need to fill out after a province or territory has nominated you. The guide will help you fill out the forms properly.

3. Pay your application fees

a) The processing fee for you and the family members who will come to Canada with you.

You must pay a separate fee for each person who is included on your application and will be joining you in Canada. Check the fee list to see how much it will be.

An officer will assess your application to see if it is complete. If it is not, we will reject your application and refund your processing fee.

If your application is complete, we will tell you and we will send your application to one of our offices for processing. That office will assess the rest of your application. Once this has started, we cannot refund your fee.

b) The Right of Permanent Residence fee

You and your spouse or common-law partner (if you have one and if they are coming with you to Canada) must pay this fee if we approve your application.

You must pay this fee before you can become a permanent resident. Check the fee list to see how much it will be.

We will refund this fee if:

you cancel your application,

we do not approve your application or

you decide not to come to Canada.

c) Other fees

You must also pay fees to third parties for:

a medical exam,

a police certificate,

an Educational Credential Assessment, if you need it,

language testing, if you need it, and

other fees, depending on your case.

How to pay your fees

You must pay your processing fees in Canadian dollars. The easiest way to do so is online.